June 07, 2006

What I've learned so far

Some of you have asked for an update on my health, so it's below, but first here are a few related insights I've had recently.

When people ask how I'm feeling, they're looking for a one-sentence answer, not a monologue. If people don't ask how I'm feeling, they really don't want to hear.

No one wants to listen to me rave about the great card/flowers/gift I received from someone else. Illness is not a license to be insensitive.

There are a lot of things I don't know and that's OK. However, there are a lot of things doctors don't know. Ask a lot of questions, then ask some more. As Ronald Reagan said, "Trust, but verify."

What feels to me like a life-changing revelation sounds like a Hallmark card to the rest of the world.

My recovery mantra: Let go, say no, go slow.

Here's a one-sentence health update. It seems the doctors that determined my liver tumors were adenomas got it wrong, and after a month of tests we still don't have a definitive diagnosis or treatment plan, but I meet with the doctor again on Monday and we hope to learn more then. (Yes, I know it's a run-on sentence, but it's still a one-sentence version.)

I'm going to spare you the monologue, but I will say it's been a month of see-sawing. First, there were indications that I had this and then it thankfully became more likely that I have this. From day to day, based on different test results, I tried to understand and mentally prepare for the different possible diagnoses and treatment plans (from surgery to "wait and see") suggested to me by different doctors at the same cancer center.

So the overall lesson I've learned is to forget about the fat lady, the opera ain't over until the final curtain call. Oh yeah, and frozen black-eyed peas make the best ice packs.

Julie - I am continuing to pray for you and hope that indeed, the prognosis is not serious (per say). I can imagine that the last few months have been trying. How, may I ask, did all this come to be discovered? Keep us posted, please.

Glad to 'hear' from you again. I know just what you mean in lesson #1. It drives me crazy - if people don't want a monologue when they ask how you're doing, then they just shouldn't ask!
Still thinking of you. Still praying.